1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to braking means for carts and the like, and is more particularly concerned with means for rotating at least two wheels of a shopping cart to a position to prevent unwanted rolling of the cart.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Shopping carts are provided for the customers of a number of stores, including grocery store, drug stores, hardware stores and others. Many of these stores allow a customer to roll the cart to the parking lot for carrying purchases to the customer's vehicle. Though corrals for carts are usually provided in parking lots, many customers fail to utilize the corrals, and simply leave the cart in the parking area. Once the cart is left unattended, the cart is likely to roll. Sometimes the cart is on a slight hill, causing the rolling. Other times, the wind may cause the cart to roll, or someone may bump the cart to cause it to roll. The rolling cart, regardless of the cause, is a hazard in a parking lot in that it can engage vehicles and dent them. A report by a television station indicated that the damage done to automobiles by shopping carts is over 300 million dollars. Even when attempting to unload a cart, the cart sometimes tends to roll if the cart is on a sloped surface. Thus, there has long been a need for some form of braking means for shopping carts. There have been some efforts at providing braking means for a shopping cart, but the prior art brakes have been relatively complex, and have usually been integrally formed with the cart so the brakes cannot be added to an existing cart. Locking wheels are well known, but these require that the user step on small pedals to lock or un-lock each wheel. The usual customer cannot be expected to manipulate such brakes appropriately, especially during the stop-start motions of shopping.
Thus, the prior art has not provided easy to use, automatically operating braking means for shopping carts.